Gov. Mark Sanford’s plan to give tax credits to parents to send their children to private school may have to wait until next year, some state House members predict.

The controversial proposal, a major piece of Sanford’s agenda, won its first round Tuesday when members of a legislative panel voted to pass it on to the full Ways and Means Committee.

But Wednesday the full committee decided not to act on the bill. Members have several questions and want time to offer amendments, said committee chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston.

The time to get bills passed before the legislative session ends in June is growing short. After May 1, bills coming out of the House have to receive a two-thirds vote to be heard by the Senate.

Harrell said he doubts the Ways and Means Committee will take up tuition tax credits before May 1.

House Democratic leader James Smith, D-Columbia, declared the bill dead after the Wednesday committee meeting, saying it would never make it to the Senate by May 1.

Harrell called Smith’s proclamation “a red herring.” Harrell said the bill isn’t dead, and he plans to pass it out to the full House. What happens after that is unclear, he said.

“I don’t know whether it passes this session,” Harrell said, adding he’s unsure whether the bill has enough support in the Senate to pass .

Sanford spokesman Will Folks called the committee’s decision “a delay.”

“We’re still very confident the bill will pass out of the full committee,” he said. “The governor is obviously disappointed by the delay.”

Dubbed the “Put Parents in Charge Act,” the bill was introduced by Rep. Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg. It would allow parents whose taxable income is less than $75,000 a year to get up to $3,680 in tax credits to reduce their income taxes or property taxes.

Private school administrators, parents of special needs children and home-school advocates crowded Tuesday’s subcommittee meeting to speak for the bill.

But Democrats, public school administrators and the S.C. Chamber of Commerce oppose it, saying it would drain money from public schools.

The state estimates about 73,000 students would take part in the program — when fully phased in, in fiscal year 2009-10 — at a cost to the state of $234.4 million plus $37.8 million in local property taxes.

Tuition tax credits are one of several pieces of Sanford’s agenda still awaiting legislative approval this year.

Harrell said he supports the concept of tax credits, but he has concerns about giving them to reduce property taxes. He also dislikes that the bill would allow parents to use credits to send their children to private schools that don’t have to meet the same quality standards as public schools.

It’s unclear what Sanford’s next step will be if the bill doesn’t pass or is amended. “We’re taking it one step at a time,” Folks said.

Reach Talhelm at (803) 771-8339 or jtalhelm@thestate.com